Home Canning

[Ernie]

Bought my canning supplies this summer because I figured with the supply chain being slow and more people gardening it would be prudent to get them while I could. I canned some tomatoes last Sunday and I guess I need to pack them tighter because about a 1/4 of the quart is water. Any suggestions before I do some more tomorrow morning?
Thanks

[CT_Shooter]

Any suggestions before I do some more tomorrow morning?

Can't say why your jars would have leaked water while processing, but this is how I've successfully done it for decades.

Pack the peeled tomatoes tightly so they release some of their juice, pushing them down until there's only about a half inch of space above the liquid at the top of the jar. I use a knife to poke down to the bottom of the jar to release air bubbles. Lids should be sterilized, the rims of the jars should be wiped clean before placing the lids, and the rings should be tightened just finger tight.

Let us know how your next batch turns out.

[JEBar]

I use a knife to poke down to the bottom of the jar to release air bubbles.

that sounded like a good idea to me so I read it to my wife .... she informed me that she's been doing it for years .. .. shows how much I know

[Ernie]

Don't think jars leaked water, think I did not pack them tight enough. When I took them out of the pressure canner about 1/4 of the jar was just water with the tomatoes floating on top. Was releasing the air with a small spatula and maybe was creating more space so I will try the knife instead.
Thanks

[Ernie]

Packed this batch much tighter and used a knife to work the air out. Look much better.
Thanks
Ernie

[JEBar]

next up, canning tomatoes .... the first 7 qts of this season are shown below .... another canner full is on the stove .... the tomatoes for a third are being prepared

[JEBar]

our seasonal canning can now resume .... more tomatoes, our mountain dill pickles and some squash relish are on our agenda .... jar rings and lids ordered from Amazon back on August 26th arrived today .... this is the first time we've ordered Amazon and our order has been transported by "YunExpress" ..... lets just say that trying to keep up to date on the shipment has been a useless endeavor .... after the shipping date, updates have been few and far between .... can't recommend them ....

[JEBar]

our fall 2020 fall canning of tomatoes, squash relish and mountain dill pickles is complete and we should be good to go until spring .... we do not plan to be caught without an ample supply of rings and lids again .... some of our order placed with Amazon Sept 2nd is shown as "Package arrived at destination country" on the 14th .... no updates from YANWEN since .... if it doesn't arrive by the 24th, I plan to cancel the order

[Ernie]

Tried my new food mill this morning to can tomatoes. I figured since I wanted to used them to make sauce that it made sense to can the sauce and skip a step. The mill removed the skin, seeds and white cores so I just have to thicken the sauce and add spices when I want it. I was able to get more tomato per quart but was a bit more work. My thinking was I could eliminate making another mess later.
We had a frost Saturday morning so I harvested most of the tomatoes, jalapeño and habanero peppers. I have the green tomatoes in paper bags with a banana to ripen and put the green peppers in a bag to try to ripen as well. The ripe peppers I placed in a dehydrator and will then put in jars with desiccant.

[JEBar]

I just completed a minor row with Amazon that has been building for over 3 weeks .... Maureen needed Canning Jar Lids and there were literally none to be had in our area .... the price from Amazon of Ball Jars Wide Mouth and Regular Lids ====> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P9 ... UTF8&psc=1 was much higher than we are used to paying .... with no other obvious choice, I placed an order .... our card was charged the next day .... from there things went down hill in a hurry .... as days passed, we were able to find enough lids to take care of this year's canning .... 19 days later with he only info provided by Griffay the name of the business we were buying the lids from that the rings had reached their destination county, I called Amazon and cancelled the order .... the fellow I spoke with said he would cancel it and Griffay would contact me within 2 days .... on the second day the lids arrived but no contact.... I immediately followed the link on our Order saying I wanted to return the order .... once again, a 2 day wait notice .... 2 days passed without any contact .... I again called and, after checking, the lady I spoke with cancelled the order and refunded our purchase price .... in looking at the rings, BUYER BEWARE .... Mason Ball Dome lids are American made .... the ones sent by Griffay are in a Ball looking box, complete with an American flag but they are stamped Made In China .... Amazon has made things right but I've learned to be more careful reading about the items we order

[dave77]

I've been hesitant to buy any lids online, afraid the reasonable priced Ball and Kerr lids are going to be counterfeits. Will be sure to stock up on them this Winter or early Spring.

It's funny how the items in short supply keep changing, around here lately it's been soda, especially diet and sugar free coffee creamer.

[JEBar]

we did order some of these regular and wide mouth rings and lids ====> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FM ... =UTF8&th=1 .... they aren't as solid as the American made ones we are accustomed to by they all sealed .... like you, we plan to be well stocked before we need them about a year from now

[Sir Henry]

Who remembers the lid shortages in the early 70’s?

[JEBar]

Who remembers the lid shortages in the early 70’s?

that's really showing our age .... 1970 was 50 years ago .. .. man, that's hard to believe

[JEBar]

below is a screen shot of Griffay's customer ratings on Amazon .... 27 one star ratings have been added today, that doesn't include the one I wrote .... I called Amazon and requested a review to see as to why Amazon would still have them as one of their dealers ....

[dave77]

Who remembers the lid shortages in the early 70’s?

that's really showing our age .... 1970 was 50 years ago .. .. man, that's hard to believe

I was in my early 20's so don't really remember a canning lid shortage but I sure remember the gas shortage and gas price increases.

[JEBar]

a few days ago we started looking for regular and wide mouth jar lids for this year's home canning .... our normal local resources had new jars that come with lids but NO separate packs of lids or rings with lids .... did find some on Amazon and after calling their customer service to confirm the ones we were looking are were made in the USA, we placed an order .... no clue it they are plentiful in other parts of the country this year .... it might pay folks who home can to take a look

[dave77]

Been looking at Mason and Ball brand lids on Amazon and the prices still seem high. My friend is going to check at a grocery store in a small town a few miles away. She found some there last year for considerably less than what they were selling for on Amazon. Just don't trust the cheaper no-name lids, also I would be wary of outside dealers selling counterfeit brand name lids.

[dave77]

Who remembers the lid shortages in the early 70’s?

What kind of lids are we talking about?

[Sir Henry]

Who remembers the lid shortages in the early 70’s?

What kind of lids are we talking about?

Far out man! Except I meant canning lids.